Stepan (NYSE:SCL) Declares $0.39 Quarterly Dividend

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.385 per share by the basic materials company on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Stepan has raised its dividend by an average of 6.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 57 years. Stepan has a dividend payout ratio of 32.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Stepan to earn $3.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.4%.

Stepan Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE SCL traded up $1.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.94. 113,269 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 124,893. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.44. Stepan has a 1 year low of $59.55 and a 1 year high of $94.76.

Stepan (NYSE:SCL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.33). Stepan had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 4.56%. The company had revenue of $525.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. Stepan’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stepan will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Stepan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

About Stepan

Stepan Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty and intermediate chemicals to other manufacturers for use in various end products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products. The Surfactants segment offers surfactants that are used in consumer and industrial cleaning and disinfection products, including detergents for washing clothes, dishes, carpets, and floors and walls, as well as shampoos and body washes; and other applications, such as fabric softeners, germicidal quaternary compounds, disinfectants, and lubricating ingredients.